Certain electronic devices generate excess heat during operation. In order to cool such devices heat sinks are frequently provided to conduct heat from the device and dissipate it into the surrounding environment. An airflow may also be provided to enhance the cooling effect. For electronic devices assembled on a printed circuit board, it is known to mount a heat sink onto the circuit board and fasten or secure the electronic device to the sink.
It is desirable to have a heat sink with a configuration which provides good thermal contact with the electronic device and which provides a high rate of convection or radiation. However, when more than one such heat sink is mounted onto a circuit board the sinks may mutually interfere with one another. For example, when the sinks are aligned with respect to the airflow over the board, upstream heat sinks may block the cooling flow to downstream sinks.
Mounting heat sinks to a circuit board can be problematic in that the sink must be accurately positioned and should be stable during the assembly process. However, the effectiveness of the design should not be sacrificed for ease of assembly.